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Inquiring Minds: What is Sadie Hawkins Day?

Each week the staff at the Roseville Library answers more than 2,500 questions on every subject under the sun. Here are some of the most interesting ones they’ve gotten lately.

Q. What is Sadie Hawkins Day?

A. A. Back in the 1930s, an era when a certain maidenly reserve was considered desirable in a prospective date, the cartoonist Al Capp invented a character named Sadie Hawkins for his “L’il Abner comic strip. Sadie was supposedly so plain that she would never get a man unless she ran him down. “Sadie Hawkins” became a catch phrase for women chasing men. A Sadie Hawkins dance was an annual event where, for once, the girls could invite the boys instead of waiting for the boys to make the first move. Sadie Hawkins Day was supposedly celebrated on the first Saturday of November. Recent changes in dating customs are beginning to make the idea of Sadie Hawkins somewhat obsolete.

(Chase’s Calendar of Days and Internet Resources.)

Do you have a question for the staff at the Roseville Library? You can call them at 628-6803 or ask your question in person at the Information Desk, Roseville Library, 2180 Hamline Ave. Library hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday.